Continuous Ore Process and Apparatus Using Plasma
OwnerMichael J. Mills, Dennis Kalnasinventors
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Abstract
A method of processing ore using a plasma arc reactor includes the steps of first determining the content of the ore, modeling the plasma arc reaction for different stoichiometric ratios of ore to candidate reagents, selecting one or more of candidate reagents pre-mixing the selected reagents with the ore at corresponding stoichiometric ratios, and continuously feeding the pre-mixed ore into a plasma arc reactor, and controlling the plasma arc reaction according to the previously modeled conditions.
Claims17
A continuous ore processing method, comprising the steps of:
- a. determining the constituents of the particular ore from which the desired metal is to be extracted;
- b. using process simulation or modeling software to model the plasma arc reaction for an ore having the constituents determined in step a and one or more candidate reagents, said reagents including at least one of a flux and an reducing or oxidizing agent;
- c. using the software to simulate the plasma arc reaction when different fluxes and/or reducing/oxidizing agents in different stoichiometric ratios are added to the ore;
- d. selecting a combination of at candidate reagents and corresponding stoichiometric ratios that optimize separation of the desired metal from the ore in the simulated plasma arc reaction;
- e. pre-processing the ore to obtain a powder or crushed material;
- f. adding the selected combination of at least one flux and/or reducing/oxidizing agent to the material;
- a. feeding the material with the added flux and/or reducing/oxidizing agent into a plasma arc reactor to separate the desired metal from the ore;
- b. controlling the plasma reaction by moving electrodes in the plasma arc reactor;
- g. continuously cooling the reactor to achieve rapid cooling and ensure that vaporized metal is retained in the reactor;
- and
- h. removing the desired metal from the plasma arc reactor.
A plasma arc ore-processing reactor having a continuous feed and rapid cooling, comprising:
- a casing including a lower section having a metal tap, a central section having a slag tap, and a vented upper section;
- a pair of high voltage electrodes for creating a plasma arc;
- a mechanism for vertically moving the electrodes in order to control an arc length or position;
- a continuous feed mechanism for feeding a pre-mixture of ore and reagents into the casing for exposure to the plasma arc;
- and
- a cooling system that includes coolant passages extending through the casing of the reactor,
- wherein the plasma arc causes a pool of molten metal to collect in the lower section of the casing for removal through the metal tap, and a layer of slag to form above the pool of metal for removal through the slag tap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.